Someone elsewhere asked if there is a mantra om beng svāhā. I thought it sounded Tibetan because of the Tibetan pronunciation om mani peme hung, a sound shift from Sanskrit to Tibetan (though ng is an allophone of m in Sanskrit). A Google search turns up nothing. Any ideas?

Worthy, wise and virtuous: Who is energetic and not indolent, in misfortune unshaken, flawless in manner and intelligent, such one will honor gain. - Digha Nikaya III 273

Btw as an aside and somewhat derailing my own thread, can one recite the mantra of a buddha or bodhisattva once instead of a japa round? Or recite them (to each buddha or bodhisattva) one after the other as a litany? Is this done? I don't do a sadhana to any one buddha or bodhisattva, but my altar has representations of some (OK, more than 'some') of them. I was thinking of using these mantras (and some of those prayers in Tibetan) as a brief sadhana, much as I might recite a gayatri mantra or sloka to a Hindu deity.

Worthy, wise and virtuous: Who is energetic and not indolent, in misfortune unshaken, flawless in manner and intelligent, such one will honor gain. - Digha Nikaya III 273

Jainarayan wrote:Btw as an aside and somewhat derailing my own thread, can one recite the mantra of a buddha or bodhisattva once instead of a japa round? Or recite them (to each buddha or bodhisattva) one after the other as a litany? Is this done?

The idea of mantra repititions is to achieve absorption in the wisdom of the specific deity. If you can do this with one repitition then go for it. For me it tends to be a balancing game between too many repititions or not enough. But, to answer your question more directly, no, it is not commonly done. Normally seven repitions is the absolute minimum.

I don't do a sadhana to any one buddha or bodhisattva, but my altar has representations of some (OK, more than 'some') of them. I was thinking of using these mantras (and some of those prayers in Tibetan) as a brief sadhana, much as I might recite a gayatri mantra or sloka to a Hindu deity.

Why don't you find a teacher and get the oral transmissions for some sadhana and mantra? I don't know how it works in the various Hindu traditions but in the Vajrayana it id best to get an oral transmission of a mantra unless it is found in a sutra.

gregkavarnos wrote:The idea of mantra repititions is to achieve absorption in the wisdom of the specific deity. If you can do this with one repitition then go for it. For me it tends to be a balancing game between too many repititions or not enough. But, to answer your question more directly, no, it is not commonly done. Normally seven repitions is the absolute minimum.

OK, I understand now. Thanks. If I do this, then seven for each it is.

Why don't you find a teacher and get the oral transmissions for some sadhana and mantra? I don't know how it works in the various Hindu traditions but in the Vajrayana it id best to get an oral transmission of a mantra unless it is found in a sutra.

In Hinduism it's pretty much the same if you want to recite a mantra that has a beeja. One has to receive deeksha, initiation, from a guru. The uninitiated can recite naama japa, the name of the deity without the seed syllable(s), some have several in one mantra. What I had in mind would be for the "open" sadhanas someone listed for me here. I believe Manjushri, Chenrezig, Medicine Buddha and Green Tara are open. I'm an unabashed henotheist, and view the four I mentioned as additional deities; I'm drawn to them for their "specialties".

Worthy, wise and virtuous: Who is energetic and not indolent, in misfortune unshaken, flawless in manner and intelligent, such one will honor gain. - Digha Nikaya III 273